Friendly Beginnings
by Adobo-chan
Summary: ONE-SHOT. For paws-bells. For Shinji, a regular day at the office turns out to be a good day to play hooky. Light ShiYori, IchiRuki and HitsuKarin friendship.


**AN**: It was paws-bells birthday and I remember her telling me it was the 30th and I just couldn't write anything in time. T.T But I have remedied my laziness (kinda. I'm still working on my HitsuKarin smut... .) and gotten a fic out for her. It was nice writing something that wasn't strictly romance. An enjoyable change of pace for me. Haha. If you enjoyed it, a review would be lovely.

Dedicated to **paw-bells** for her birthday. I'm reading her ShiYori fic so I thought that it would be an apporpriate gift. ;D

Warnings: Everything takes place after the war and is within canon (from what I know). So the HitsuKarin filler episodes don't apply here. :)

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"Oi, din't I say not ta bother me 'bout all this paperwork? I'll get to it… eventually," Hirako Shinji grumbled, reclining in his chair with a book plastered on his face. It did a good job of keeping the sunlight from bothering him as he enjoyed his afternoon nap.

Not that he usually could with that goody-two shoes lieutenant of his milling about. And he couldn't even get mad at her, dammit. Unlike a certain blonde back in the Living World, Hinamori was the epitome of good manners and grace. He liked her well enough, of course. It was hard to dislike someone so dedicated but it made skirting his duties a pain while trying to come up with an excuse she always seemed to see right through.

When the other didn't say anything, he sighed against the ruffled pages. "Look, I ain't in the mood today, Hinamori-fukutaichou, so if you could leave me be for a while…"

"I'm not your lieutenant."

The gruff, feminine voice was very different from Momo's, making Hirako sit up at attention. Instead of shinigami robes, he was surprised to lay eyes on a sailor uniform that immediately reminded him of Lisa but looked far more suitable on this girl. And she was a girl, a half-human one at that, barely into her teens but with a wary look on her that rubbed him all the wrong ways.

"Do I know you, brat?" he asked, leaning forward and squinting hard at her. There was something familiar about the pinched look on her face. "Pretty sure I'd remember some kid roamin' 'round here in that get-up."

"No, and frankly if this is the way you treat everyone you meet, I'd like to keep it that way." The acidic bite had him raising a brow while he breathed out a confused 'ahh?' Her defiant frown was less than impressed. "I'm looking for Kurosaki Ichigo. Heard he made a call here at the Fifth and so I came to check on him."

It takes a second but the pieces click in place. Although he'd never met them personally, Shinji could remember Ichigo yapping on about his sisters. The boy only had a complex the size of Soul Society, which prompted those Soul Tickets that so few had a hold of. Not even the Visored had any, though Urahara acted as a potential gateway when the he decided to cooperate. Which wasn't often.

"Oh, yer one of his sisters, right?" Eyeing her up and down, he watched her confidence ebb into a bit of discomfort at his perusal. "Don't look nothin' like him but maybe tha's a good thing. At least yer kinda cute."

"W-what the hell?" the dark-haired Kurosaki stammered, turning a bright red at the abrupt change of topic. Balling her fists at her sides, her pretty face contorted into a glower. "Look, old man, I'm not about to let some creeper try anything with me. I'm just looking for my brother."

Offended, Shinji scoffed, tilting his head and letting his bangs fall into his eyes. "Don't flatter yourself, kid. I'm not into babies."

"'Babies'?" she repeated, outraged as her face heated with another emotion entirely. "I'm not a baby, I'm thirteen! Just because you're ancient doesn't mean you gotta get on my case, you old goat!"

"Oi, I'm not that old! You don't even know how old I am!"

"You gotta be as old as my dad and he's ancient! I know, I asked Mayuri-taichou to check his birth records." And what a trip that'd been. Learning your father was over a century old was liking putting lemon slices in your eyes. There really was no upside.

It took a lot for him to not yell that he was most likely older than that man—though he probably aged better, possibly due to his Hollow half—because that seemed counterproductive to his cause. Instead he got back to the argument at hand, as he rested his elbows on the table and frowned at her.

"Look, I'm not tryin' ta put ya off. I was just complimentin' ya. You don't got that dumb look in yer eye that yer brother's got sometimes." He shook his head then, as if remembering a particularly painful moment. "Especially when it comes to that Kuchiki girl. Idiot can't seem ta put a' intelligent thought together when she's around."

"You mean Rukia-nee? Yeah, he's a sucker for her. Makes him useless but it's good for blackmail," the teenager shrugged, as if the idea of playing her family was a completely acceptable pastime. He grinned a bit at her nonchalance, amused. She definitely wasn't like most human girls, who got all fussy and angry whenever he was a tiny bit insensitive.

His mind suddenly recalled why she was here in the first place, his eyes slanting as he held her stare. "If yer lookin' for Ichigo, he's long gone. Probably tracking down his midget girlfriend but I'm not completely sure."

"You better not let Ichi-nii hear you talk about Rukia-nee like that. He'd beat you to a pulp," she rolled her eyes, treading back towards the door with a sigh. "Well, thanks for your help, I guess. You're alright, even if you are a lolicon."

Flushing beet red, Hirako was on his feet before she could reach the exit. "I am not! I'm totally into hot, sexy women with nice racks and curvy bodies! I wouldn't look twice at anything less!" Crossing his arms with finality, he missed the careful opening of the door from the other side and the burning aura of anger that crossed the threshold. All the while, his first guest watched with not-so-hidden interest.

"Is that so, Shinji? You're only into 'hot' women, are you?" The icy fury was tamed, as a petite blonde took small, sure steps towards him. But the familiar voice ran up his spine, fear tingling in his very fingertips as his stunned face fell on a stalking Hiyori. And not for the first time, his life flashed before his eyes.

"Now, wait a minute, Hiyori. Let me explain myself…" he said with an emotional appeal, hands up defensively to try and sway his young lover.

But the blonde just wasn't having it. "Go to hell, you perverted two-timer!"

Off to the sidelines, Kurosaki Karin watched as the Fifth's captain took a beating at the hands of his adolescent-looking girlfriend. She couldn't help but notice that she and the other girl looked around the same age, though she was sure they were nowhere close in actuality. Her red track suit gripped a plain, childish body, one even smaller than her own. The thought made her snort, as this Hiyori character finished bloodying up her boyfriend before perching herself on the desk with a huff.

_Yeah, mature, sexy women are_ totally _your type_, Karin mused with a half-lidded stare. Really, what was it about shinigami men and cute girls? Her mother hadn't really fit the bill, but it seemed like she was one of the exceptions. Glancing at her own developing body, she decided that maybe she should stay away from powerful, ghost men. They didn't seem worth the trouble.

Watching as the captain grappled his way back into his chair, face bloodied and bruised, Karin almost felt pity. Almost. "That's what you get for hitting on other girls while your girlfriend's away. You can't blame her for beating you shitless."

"You did what, fool?!" the tiny Visored snarled, leaning across the table to look him right in the eye.

"I wasn't hittin' on nobody, Hiyori! I was just tryin' to point something out!"

Their bickering escalated but there was no more punching or death threats, a good sign that the dramatics were done with. Seeing them slowly fall into an easy exchange of insults, Karin couldn't help but smirk a little as the fighting became something more tranquil, comfortable, until it eventually settled completely.

At the very least, Hiyori was making an attempt at an apology, stammering out angry comments about how he shouldn't be saying such nonsense about other women in the first place. Shinji was back to his smirking self, taking her small hand in a gesture that seemed far more intimate on them than anyone else and making her sputter another death threat or two. It looked like physical affection came in very different forms for them.

Deciding she'd overstayed her welcome, Karin was about to leave when yet another newcomer stepped inside. And for a moment, she wondered if the Gotei Thirteen was basically being run by a bunch of childish-looking officers.

_At least they're cute_, she thought to herself, as hardened green eyes took her in. Straying quickly, they settled on the couple on the desk, one who was smiling widely at the other's reluctant words. When he cleared his throat, they looked at him with mild surprise.

"Hitsugaya-taichou. What can I do for ya t'day?" Hirako inquired as he sat up a bit straighter. He didn't give any excuses for his appearance and the other didn't ask. It seemed to be quite obvious what his answer would be.

"I'm looking for Kurosaki and from what I know, the last time anyone saw him was here. Do you know where he is?" The boy frowned at the tired shake of Hirako's head, as if exasperated. But it was Hiyori who answered him.

"I saw Ichigo not too long ago. Said he was gonna check out something at the Thirteenth."

"More like someone…" Karin muttered under her breath. She must've been louder than she intended because all eyes settled on her then, amusement in Shinji's and Hiyori's but impatience in the white-haired newcomer's. The number ten on his robe disappeared from sight and she reminded herself that this boy probably knew her father at some point. It was an odd realization.

"Do you know where he is?" Hitsugaya turned to her fully, immediately deducing her relationship to Ichigo. There was an air about her that was distinctly Kurosaki, a mix between unintentional bad manners and total disregard for others. He didn't like it but was too polite to say so.

Karin sized him up with a critical onceover before replying. "Yeah, he's probably with Rukia-nee. And if she's in her office, then he's probably just bugging her like he always does when he's bored."

Nodding, he turned towards the former Visored. "I'm off to find him then. Thank you for your help."

"Oi, take that little girl there with you," Shinji interjected just as Toushirou spun around. "She's looking for 'im too and I can't have her gettin' lost. Ichigo'll have my head."

"My name is Kurosaki Karin, you dolt. At least have the courtesy to ask for it," she snapped, just as she turned to the other captain. "You're Hitsugaya Toushirou from the Tenth, right? My brother's told me a bit about you. If it's okay, I'll head to the Thirteenth with you. I have some news from home that he needs to be updated on."

Grunting, he eyed her with renewed interest. "Have you ever traveled by shunpo?"

"No, I don't think so..." Nervously, her lips turned downwards. "That's not gonna be a problem, is it?

"It'll be a bit of a trip but no, you should be fine," he explained before offering her a hand. Her confusion stayed even as she took it, feeling the warmth of his skin. "Just hang on, okay?" And in an instant, they disappeared.

A moment passed and Shinji was still tracing over the spot where they left. Noticing his expression, Hiyori let a fanged tooth cover her bottom lip. "What's up, Shinji? Everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, it's all good," he said, breaking out of his reverie to grin up at her. A soft punch to the arm was what he got in reply, as Hiyori grumbled something about staying a while to visit. Deciding a day off wouldn't kill him, he rushed her out the door before his vice captain came parading in and guilt-tripped him into another stack of paperwork. He doesn't tell Hiyori what was really on his mind though, as he tangled their fingers together and led her down the hall.

He didn't think he could explain the strange, serendipitous feeling left in the wake of his young friend's departure. Those two were going to be something special, he just knew it. But what that was was still up for debate.

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**AN**: A little fluff to start out December! I hope you guys enjoyed it. If you did, a comment would be nice. :)

Thanks for reading, everybody! Until next time~


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